STATE PLANS TO SPEND $9 MILLION ON AMTRAK PROMOTION

Campaign designed to increase rail ridership, revenues

Sacramento 
California has awarded a contract for up to $9 million for public outreach and social marketing of Amtrak service, even as the state considers devoting another $25 million a year to subsidize the service’s Pacific Surfliner that runs from San Diego to San Luis Obispo.

The Surfliner in fiscal year 2012 had 2.64 million passengers, down from 2.79 million in 2011.

The California Department of Transportation has tapped Sacramento-based TMD Group Inc. to promote ridership and increase revenue for state-supported rail and related bus services on the Surfliner and San Joaquin routes, known as Amtrak California.

Another task calls on the specialists to research, coordinate and promote “themed event” trips such as a Mardi Gras Masquerade Party Train or New Year’s Eve Train “in order to generate passenger interest, obtain positive media coverage and position Amtrak California as a progressive, preferable travel option,” according to Caltrans’ request for proposal.

TMD Group will also be responsible for creating a statewide rail safety program — “Be Track Smart.”

Mark Dinger, a spokesman for Caltrans, said state law requires the department to develop comprehensive marketing strategies to promote ridership on intercity rail, inform the public about feeder bus routes, and participate in public rail safety education.

TMD Group did not return a message seeking comment.

Governments have increasingly leaned on outside public-relations firms to help them interact with the public, providing an added layer of outreach to their growing ranks of internal communications staff.

Last week, U-T Watchdog reported that San Diego County’s regional planning agency is preparing its PR contracts for the next five years at an estimated $40 million. The revelation drew a harsh rebuke from San Diego Mayor Bob Filner.

Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown nixed a $10 million PR contract for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, including production of a commemorative book, saying it appeared excessive.

And the board charged with creating the state’s high-speed rail abandoned plans to re-up its PR contracts in late 2011 amid an uproar over the agency spending $7.2 million a year for the services.

Doug Lister, a real estate agent based in San Diego, said social marketing would do little to make him a regular Amtrak passenger because the trains are too slow. A one-way trip from San Diego to Los Angeles takes nearly three hours and costs $37.

“I don’t know how they will ever boost ridership if they keep putting that product out there,” Lister said. “It should be convenient, and it’s not.”

California spends about $90 million annually in operating subsidies for rail lines. That could go up by $25 million in October to cover more costs of the Pacific Surfliner, as the federal government is requiring states to pitch in more money if they wish to preserve Amtrak service.

The Pacific Surfliner has grown to become the second-busiest rail corridor in the U.S. However, the line competes with local commuter rail, including the Coaster and Metrolink, causing some of the Amtrak trains to experience weak ridership during off-peak periods.